(a) Field
The invention relates to a thin film transistor and a thin film transistor array panel including the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Flat panel displays such as a liquid crystal display (“LCD”), an organic light emitting diode (“OLED”) display, an electrophoretic display, a plasma display, and the like include multiple pairs of electric field generating electrodes and an electro-optical active layer interposed therebetween. The liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal layer as the electro-optical active layer, and the organic light emitting display includes an organic light emitting layer as the electro-optical active layer. Either one of a pair of electric field generating electrodes is generally connected to a switching element to receive an electrical signal, and the electro-optical active layer between the electric field generating electrodes converts the electrical signal into an optical signal to display an image.
The flat panel display may include a display panel having a thin film transistor as the switching element. The display panel having the thin film transistor may be referred to a thin film transistor array panel. The thin film transistor array panel includes multiple patterned electrodes and/or semiconductors, and masks are generally used in a patterning process.
The semiconductor is an important factor in determining the characteristics of the thin film transistor. The semiconductor primarily includes amorphous silicon, however the charge mobility thereof is low such that there is a limit in manufacturing a high performance thin film transistor. Also, when using polysilicon, the charge mobility is high such that manufacturing of the high performance thin film transistor is easy, however, the cost is high and uniformity is low such that there is a limit in manufacturing a large-sized thin film transistor array panel.